NEW YORK — The trial of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity was fundamentally flawed and the death penalty is unsound and indefensible, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday, November 20.
"The trial... was marred by so many procedural and substantive flaws that the verdict is unsound," the rights watchdog said in a statement released with its 97-page report on the trial.
"The proceedings in the Dujail trial were fundamentally unfair," said Nehal Bhuta, who wrote the report.
Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging earlier this month over ordering the deaths of 148 Shiite civilians, mostly boys and men, from the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad, after an assassination attempt in 1982.
Two other defendants were also sentenced to death while four were sentenced to prison terms of from 15 years to life.
Among specific criticisms of Saddam's trial, the HRW says the court regularly failed to disclose key evidence to the defense in advance and defendants were denied the basic right to confront witnesses against them.
It said the trial saw "lapses of judicial demeanor" which made the presiding judge appear partial and there were "important gaps" in evidence that weakened the prosecution's case, putting in doubt the proof of the crimes charged.
The report is based on 10 months of observation and dozens of interviews with judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers.
While the verdict and sentences are under appeal, Saddam, who was forced from power by the US-led invasion in March 2003, is being tried on separate charges for genocide.
"Indefensible"
The HRW said the imposition of the death penalty in the wake of an unfair trial is "indefensible".
The HRW says the court that tried Saddam and seven co-defendants "was undermined from the outset by Iraqi government actions that threatened the independence and perceived impartiality of the court."
"The attitude of the cabinet towards the court and the trial is one of a consumer who pays money for a product," one judge told HRW. "The government treats the court like a factory."
"In addition, the imposition of the death penalty - an inherently cruel and inhumane punishment - in the wake of an unfair trial is indefensible."
The report described the behavior of second chief judge Raouf Abdel Rahman in court as erratic for repeatedly losing his temper, insulting defendants and making unexplained decisions, in one case refusing to let a defense lawyer question his own witness.
Relations between Rahman and defense counsel, who frequently boycotted proceedings, were "poisoned", the it added.
Because Iraqi lawyers and judges had been isolated from international criminal law, the report says, this decision resulted in a court that lacked the expertise to prosecute crimes against humanity on its own.
"Unless the Iraqi government allows experienced international judges and lawyers to participate directly, it's unlikely the court can fairly conduct other trials."
The US-led Coalition Provisional Authority decided that the Dujail trial would be held by an Iraqi court in Iraq, ruling out an international tribunal or a mixed Iraqi-international court under UN auspices.
Throughout the trial, three defense lawyers were murdered, three judges left the five-member panel and the original chief judge was replaced.
While Saddam's appeal is under consideration, governments in Europe, where most countries ban capital punishment, have led calls for his death sentence to be commuted.
But US President George W. Bush, who admitted that US intelligences that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction were flawed, has described the conviction and sentence as "a major achievement" for Iraq.
"The trial... was marred by so many procedural and substantive flaws that the verdict is unsound," the rights watchdog said in a statement released with its 97-page report on the trial.
"The proceedings in the Dujail trial were fundamentally unfair," said Nehal Bhuta, who wrote the report.
Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging earlier this month over ordering the deaths of 148 Shiite civilians, mostly boys and men, from the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad, after an assassination attempt in 1982.
Two other defendants were also sentenced to death while four were sentenced to prison terms of from 15 years to life.
Among specific criticisms of Saddam's trial, the HRW says the court regularly failed to disclose key evidence to the defense in advance and defendants were denied the basic right to confront witnesses against them.
It said the trial saw "lapses of judicial demeanor" which made the presiding judge appear partial and there were "important gaps" in evidence that weakened the prosecution's case, putting in doubt the proof of the crimes charged.
The report is based on 10 months of observation and dozens of interviews with judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers.
While the verdict and sentences are under appeal, Saddam, who was forced from power by the US-led invasion in March 2003, is being tried on separate charges for genocide.
"Indefensible"
The HRW said the imposition of the death penalty in the wake of an unfair trial is "indefensible".
The HRW says the court that tried Saddam and seven co-defendants "was undermined from the outset by Iraqi government actions that threatened the independence and perceived impartiality of the court."
"The attitude of the cabinet towards the court and the trial is one of a consumer who pays money for a product," one judge told HRW. "The government treats the court like a factory."
"In addition, the imposition of the death penalty - an inherently cruel and inhumane punishment - in the wake of an unfair trial is indefensible."
The report described the behavior of second chief judge Raouf Abdel Rahman in court as erratic for repeatedly losing his temper, insulting defendants and making unexplained decisions, in one case refusing to let a defense lawyer question his own witness.
Relations between Rahman and defense counsel, who frequently boycotted proceedings, were "poisoned", the it added.
Because Iraqi lawyers and judges had been isolated from international criminal law, the report says, this decision resulted in a court that lacked the expertise to prosecute crimes against humanity on its own.
"Unless the Iraqi government allows experienced international judges and lawyers to participate directly, it's unlikely the court can fairly conduct other trials."
The US-led Coalition Provisional Authority decided that the Dujail trial would be held by an Iraqi court in Iraq, ruling out an international tribunal or a mixed Iraqi-international court under UN auspices.
Throughout the trial, three defense lawyers were murdered, three judges left the five-member panel and the original chief judge was replaced.
While Saddam's appeal is under consideration, governments in Europe, where most countries ban capital punishment, have led calls for his death sentence to be commuted.
But US President George W. Bush, who admitted that US intelligences that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction were flawed, has described the conviction and sentence as "a major achievement" for Iraq.
- Click to read the report in full
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